<p>I've been accepted to UCLA and UCSD and I want to major in History or Poli Sci. Which school is better?</p>
<p>Neither. Cardinal>Bruins>Whatever ucsd’s mascot is</p>
<p>You know you’re getting good information when the person giving it doesn’t even know 'bout the Tritons.</p>
<p>I think the Poli Sci programs are comparable in quality, though I haven’t taken PS classes at UCSD so I wouldn’t know. Our History department at UCLA is pretty fantastic though, but again I have no frame of reference with UCSD.</p>
<p>@cp_sabotage thank you for your help : )</p>
<p>No problem.</p>
<p>Also, if you do happen to go here and Terraciano is teaching History 8A in the Fall (I know, this is a long list of ifs…) TAKE THAT CLASS.</p>
<p>It’s History of Colonial Latin America, so probably not immediately interesting by title, but the prof. is amazing and it’s totally worth it.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your decision, PM me if you’ve got any more questions,
CP</p>
<p>“IFs” are better than not knowing anything at all : ) Thank You</p>
<p>poli sci at ucla has several bad professors and the class sizes are gigantic, which is bad…like 500 kids in one poli sci class…and ucsd is ranked higher than ucla for poli sci…but it seems like more opportunities at ucla than ucsd, im not entirely certain</p>
<p>I was an undergrad at UCLA for poli sci and TAed at UCSD as a graduate student (history and poli sci, for the record.)</p>
<p>Both campuses have incredible professors. UCLA’s poli sci program is top 10, with particular strength in comparative and American politics. UCSD’s poli sci is top 5, with particular strength in IR, comparative, and methodology. </p>
<p>UCLA’s history department is, in my opinion, generally stronger than UCSD’s. Both, however, have particular strengths in East Asian history. </p>
<p>Often, what people call “bad” amongst professors really just means “hard.” Of course, there are bad professors, but it’s uncanny how often harder professors get lower ratings. </p>
<p>You will get big classes at both UCSD and UCLA. My experience was that it was usually the strength of the TA that made or broke a class. In any case, both are comparable in terms of faculty strength, but my opinion is that UCLA is a better undergraduate experience. </p>
<p>Just my $0.02</p>
<p>I’d add too that there are definitely no PS classes of ‘500’ students; that’s absolutely false. In fact, I only know of one class with anywhere near that high of an enrollment, and it’s not in either the PS or History departments.</p>
<p>Lower division classes in almost all majors range from 150-350 students, speaking very broadly, and only a fraction of those enrolled actually attend class. Classes are certainly big in that respect, but as UCLAri mentioned that is a characteristic of any large public school, especially a UC.</p>
<p>
It feels like 500 classmates for most people; and, I would like to point out, despite half or so of the class going missing after the first two lectures, the lecture hall does not shrink! Everyone has major cooties. My COMPTNG 10A class was in the MS lecture hall with only an attendence of like 40 people a lecture and we were all sitting 5+ seats apart. lolz</p>
<p>I’m in Poli Sci 10 next quarter, and there are 300 people in the class.</p>
<p>UCLA’s biggest lecture halls fit ~420, so there are only a couple classes north of 450 (like Phy Sci 5)</p>
<p>There is a critical difference between seats and people though.</p>
<p>350 people is crowded. It’s loud. It’s kind of difficult to find a seat if you’re late.
350 seats is empty. It’s quiet. You can sit wherever you want.</p>
<p>Totally different.</p>
<p>Thanks you guys for all your help. I’m expecting a lot of students per class knowing that it’s a public school not a small liberal arts college. In terms of quality, it seems that UCLA and UCSD are almost equal. But, doesn’t UCLA have partnerships with nearby museums? My college counselor told me this.</p>
<p>um ok sorry guys, but one of my friends said he had 480 ppl in one class for polisci so it is true</p>
<p>One of my friends told me the sky is green so it is true</p>
<p>I read on the USC board about how UCLA has 1000 people in some lectures.</p>
<p>Also: pre-meds rip up your notes in class.</p>
<p>For the upcoming quarter at UCLA, the largest poli-sci class holds up to 370 students, but has 320 students currently enrolled. The biggest problem with poli-sci at UCLA is the classes fill up ridiculously quick, especially the classes with the easier professors. If you don’t sign up your first pass, and it your first pass isn’t early, theres a good chance you will only be able to sign up for some ridiculous professors when it comes to grading. </p>
<p>The largest History class next quarter has around 420 students enrolled, but thats because the teacher is the easiest in the department and its suppose to be a fun class. Of those 420 kids, Im sure only about 200 - 250 will show up every lecture. For me, the History classes have been great, I’ve only had 1 professor I was disappointed with and I haven’t encountered any terrible grading, or anything that is unexpected after reading Bruinwalk. My only issue with History at UCLA is that I’ve been somewhat disappointed with the classes offered on a quarterly basis, but since you only need to take 10 upper division classes or so to fulfill the major, it gives you an opportunity to double major if you are doing grad school, or just explore other departments and boos your gpa for law school. </p>
<p>Hope that helps at all.</p>
<p>there are NO 1000 person classes at ucla. the most you will probably ever find will be about 450 and that is highly unusual. The biggest political science class at ucla this quarter is 370 people, but only 328 and 301 enrolled. There are two 370 person classes taught by the same professor. The biggest political science course at usc is 200 people for this semester. Thats about a 100 person difference, which isn’t that big at all. </p>
<p>Also, there will usually be 2 or 3 of these types of big glasses just for people who have trouble getting classes so there will always be something for you to take and you won’t be left with nothing. The rest of the classes run from about 10 to 150 people. 370 is considered to be a very large class, not the norm.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Such crud. Neither are true.</p>
<p>
Does this even sound remotely plausible to you? The first one, okay, if you’ve never been to a college campus you may be lead to believe there are 1000 people lectures. The second? That’s absurd. Please think before you type.</p>